Nimbin shows its true face to village visitors

Darren Butcher is one of the Nimbin personalities featured in the Faces of Nimbin campaign.

Jazmine Theodora

Ashlee Jones

Sometimes truth in advertising works, especially if what you’re selling is authenticity.

Faces of Nimbin is a new marketing campaign that taps into the rich diversity of Nimbin’s community, debunking the stereotypical image of the village often portrayed in mainstream media.

The concept was dreamed up by the Nimbin Marketing Campaign Focus Group, made up of local business people and community representatives.

It is part of a broader marketing campaign, funded with $120,000 from Destination NSW and the North Coast Destination Network, which was designed to boost tourism following the 2014 fires that destroyed the Nimbin Museum, Rainbow Café, Tribal Magic and Bringabong.

Fifteen locals have been chosen for the Faces of Nimbin campaign and will be featured on Nimbin’s tourism website (www.visitnimbin.com.au) and in social media campaigns, including the Slow Living magazine’s Facebook site.

Lismore City Council’s tourism services coordinator Andrew Walker said the combination of beautiful photographs by local photographer NATSKY and personal stories gives visitors an insight into Nimbin’s real community, behind the T-shirt slogans and newspaper headlines.

‘Nimbin is a melting pot of so many interesting people – in fact, the reason Nimbin is so special is because it allows for such diversity and visitors get to see and feel that right on the street,’ Andrew said.

‘Nimbin is so much more than what the mainstream media would have you believe. Behind the headlines is a fascinating village full of thinkers, artisans, comedians, activists, farmers and talented people with myriad beliefs, pastimes and talents.

‘Some of the ‘faces’ we feature have the most extraordinary stories to tell. It is that richness of human experience that makes Nimbin like no other destination in the world.’

The Faces of Nimbin campaign begins on 8 January and the first stage will run until Easter. Lismore + Nimbin Tourism hopes to continue the campaign with more local faces in the future.